
The Not-So-Secret Diary of Diva the Shetland Pony - Holidays
26/05/2022With the summer fast approaching, the time comes for us humans to plan for going away on holiday. For those of us with horses. this can present a challenge.
We’ve been very busy the last few weeks, and can happily say the roof and guttering is now 100% complete (repair of Bob’s damage done too). I’ve painted the outside brickwork too – it was originally a bright white but I preferred a warmer shade so opted for a cream, we are now stripping the paint from all the doorframes and the doors ready to paint those too.
The big decision though – what colour should the doors be? At the moment, they are a dark greyish/black/blue shade, and the main door a bright green (so anything would look better than this!) however, I am torn between a dark or bright blue, emerald green and then the wild card of a maroon/purple! Will have to see what looks good in the shop.
I am overjoyed to see the local riding club put out a notification that things are starting back up 😊 I have been a bit apprehensive going out now and wanted to keep it local until we get our bearings and confidence. We haven’t done much jumping yet as I’m waiting for my arena, (9 weeks to go!) so will be looking at showing/dressage/pleasure rides to start with!
I have just signed myself and Autumn up for a fitness clinic on Sunday so really looking forward to it and meeting some new horsey pals 😊, the riding club are also hosting a pleasure ride in August and some lovely ladies have invited Autumn and I to join them for it which I cannot wait for!
Aria is doing well with her physio exercises, I’ve been making sure she strides out when walking and going through countless bags of carrots for the stretches…only been nipped twice so that’s an improvement! We’ve almost finished the 2nd weeks’ worth of exercises, so will be doing the longer ones come mid-week! It’s quite useful as I can use the stretches for Autumn and Bob as well to help them 😊 She has her check-up not long away, so I will be excited to see if there’s been a difference with all the work, we are putting in.
I’m currently trying Autumn in a new bit I bought at a saddlery sale, its similar to her other one but has a copper roller as I’ve noticed she’s not a fan of the link in her snaffle. I’ve ridden her in it a few times now and she’s a lot softer, more responsive and generally happier with it which is a great positive.
I also get to tell my partner that it was worth going to the sale to buy it…..amongst all the other items we ‘had’ to buy!!! 😉. I hope you are all having fun with your equine pals, stay safe!
With the summer fast approaching, the time comes for us humans to plan for going away on holiday. For those of us with horses. this can present a challenge.
The trio have been raiding my bank account the past couple of weeks with a full hay delivery, 20kg bag of treats (lasts the a fair few months), farrier, and they were also treated to a back session each with a McTimoney practitioner as I wanted them given a good once over (think I need one too at this rate).
I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it to the East Anglian Shetland Pony Group’s spring show. It was being held at the World Horse Welfare, Snetterton which is quite a drive from Rutland and I wasn’t keen on heading off for a long day on my own.
We had our first outing int the new horsebox over the bank holiday weekend, and although I was a bit nervous (despite a test run the day before without a horse) it all went well!